17/10
Overall my feeling is that it was a good season. Unfortunately Notts failed to get over the line after being involved in all three competitions until the final stages.
It was always going to be difficult to win the One day cup when losing so many players to the 100. The T20 again promised much but petered out. As the defending champions the resumption, after the 100 break saw a bit of a drop off in performance and in the end a 4th place. On many occasions the top three underperformed, but when you lose the toss on so many occasions (11 out of 14) but they did face less then friendly batting conditions. What was disturbing was the drop off in performance of McCann, but perhaps with a close season to reflect, remedies might be at hand. Haynes and Clarke were key players in the middle order.
Fergus O'Neill has been a great signing, but with three different overseas bowlers in the last three matches consistency was always going to be a problem. There were also injuries to bowlers which was concerning, but Stone was outstanding and nice to see Giles come through.
The recruitment of Simpson for me is welcomed, with chopping and changing of keepers. Hopefully a young understudy who can take over in the future will be groomed!
Apart from their drop off in the last few games, after beating Leicestershire away, better was promised at home. Preparing a pitch for a match where a result was beckoning, but bland batting conditions allowed the likes of Hull to bat with comfort and a bore draw resulted.
I understand that Notts would be looking over their shoulder fearing ECB sanctions for substandard pitches, but this seemed to go too far. One comment from a friend was that his grandson would not be tempted back watching what the faithful would by habit take almost for granted. The ECB docked Leicestershire points, but sub standard test pitches, mainly at Lords, go without sanction, even when a truncated game results in reduced revenues.
In the county championship too many draws in a season where weather meant fewer lost days is not what newer spectators want to see. Converting the white ball followers into red ball ones is not going to happen. With all the technology available to groundsman it should be possible to construct and produce pitches where there is a balance between bat and ball and interesting cricket.
At one match I was irritated to see a start delayed by 45 minutes, after overnight rain, presumably with player safety in mind. The wicket area was extensively covered but players safety wouldn't have stopped T20 white ball cricket and it didn’t interfere with fielding routines and football. It seems when spots of rain during play are felt, umpires want to come off at the drop of a hat, but different regulations apply for T20.
With the decreased dimensions of the playing area from its original, pressure has been put on the number of wickets available. Obviously matches such as the one day cup have been farmed off to out grounds, which does spread Notts cricket around the county and even beyond. I understand there is however still pressure on the square. Perhaps it is time to look at drop in pitches to add to what is now a small square?
Lastly, what on earth is happening with the constant changing of the ball, which too easily goes out of shape. Perhaps methods of construction of a most important component needs to be brought up to date and research needs doing. After all the heavy leather case ball, used in the past at football has been consigned to the rubbish bin of history. Some of us will remember the HTB produced by Readers, which used an injection into a leather case. They kept their shape for ages. This wouldn't perhaps be feasible, but might be the basis for a development.
Phil Cooper
Some good points made there . There are hybrid pitches on the square mainly used for t20 and the 16.4 comp . I don't think drop in pitches are needed tbh
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